Palace Museum tells visitors to put selfie sticks away

A couple take a photo with a selfie stick at the Tian'anmen Square inBeijing. [Photo provided toChina Daily]

As popular as they are globally, selfie sticks are being asked to stay away from more places. Now the Palace Museumhas become skeptical about the selfie-enhancing device, too.

Museums take the lead

Out of safety concern, a number of museums took the lead earlier this year to ban selfie sticks in order to protect their artworks and visitors. Several major museums in other countries have said 'no' to the device, including the Rome's Colosseum, the Smithsonian museums in Washington and the National Portrait Gallery in the UK. More Chinese museums are joining the international trend as well, for example, the Nanjing Museum, which took the step last week.

Although the Palace Museum has not issued an official ban, the museum's administration has recently warned visitors to be more careful with the gadget. If the device is used in crowded place or narrow area, the staff is likely to walk up and stop it. Selfie sticks are also advised to stay outside the exhibition area in the museum, as the stretchable device can be disturbing to other visitors and dangerous to the museum objects.

Outside the museums, many international soccer teams have also banned the selfie stick from their stadiums out of shared concern. They are worried that agitated fans might use the device as a weapon.

It is still a question whether sefie sticks will be challenged in more casual occasions like amusement parks, but the Tokyo Disneyland officially bans the use of selfie stick inside the theme park area.

The voices

The Louvre museum in Paris has not yet banned selfie sticks, but an action is expected to be announced in a few weeks. An executive of the museum told a foreign media his concern: More visitors are waving the devices high in the air, and some of them are only few centimeters away from the famed original Mona Lisa.

"Museum photos are good for spreading the cultural messages, but we should pay attention to our ways," said Cao Wei, a celebrated Sina Weibo blogger. "I support the museums' actions on the selfie stick ban."